My animal is a sea snake known as

Hydrophis Belcheri (Belcher's sea snake).


An Belcher's Sea Snake is a living thing because it can respond, grow and reproduce. Here are some details.....
external image belchers%20havssnok%20%28hydrophis%20belcheri%29.jpg

Growth And Develop

This variety of sea snake is extremely poisonous, When it's fully grown, it's total amount of venom can kill 10,000 full grown men. Though they are
These types of snakes hatches from eggs outside the water, just like sea turtles. As it grows, it can grow up to 3 feet in length, 0.5-1 kg, with the females larger than the male. It spends most of its time under the ocean waters it lives in, for it can hold it's breath for 7-8 hours, yes hours. It lives in the waters of the Philippines, Gulf of Thailand,India, new guinea, Fiji ETC. Its mother gives birth to its young, because the Belcher's has a rough stomach that grips sand for sea floor travel, but it doesn't work on land, since it's dry.It uses its poison to hunt mainly fish. Most other sea snakes also consume eels, but the Belcher's is a bit to small to feast on ells, unless the eel is a small one. The Belcher's poison is extremely poisonous, so it kills its prey very, VERY quickly, so it would never starve even if it wanted too. I am not sure of where they sleep or live, but it probably sleeps on top of the water.

Reproduce

The female will keep the eggs inside themselves, just like humans, and wait unil they hatch. The embryo can stay up to a whole year in their mother's stomachs, though gestation's vary.Once there are born, they are with there mother for a short time, 3-5 months, and they're on their own. After they separate, the average snake is expected to live for 5-10 years. Their age of when they mate is not recorded, but I suspect they should mate at around 1-2 years old considering there age.

Respond To Environment

Its head is thin, which makes it a bit hard to eat, but it makes this snake more streamlined, so it swims much faster. The fin on its tail is also helpful for swimming. The end of its tail is flattened out, so it can move it back and forth to navigate. The creature is very docile, probably so it doesn't get into like fights with other animals and get eaten themselves The color of it is scales aren't useful exactly, white and black,very noticeable, so all the better for us eh? They also have valves on top of their nostrils that close when they are underwater.

Shelter and Food

These sea snakes live in it the sea ( I wonder why) so it doesn't really have a shelter. For one thing, as I said at 1, they have difficulty slithering on land, and it can;t hold its breath for THAT long, so I say they sleep on top of the water. The snakes hunt mainly fish, octopus, and clams. Other snakes eat eels too, but these snakes are to small. They bite into their prey, and the prey will die in a matter of seconds. Now I know what you are thinking, what if it eats the poison in their prey, won't they die? Honestly, I don't know. They don't drink either because they live in the sea, and no one could drink sea water, it gets its liquid form its prey.

Air

Being a sea snake, it still can't breathe underwater. It comes out every 7-8 hours to get some air, yes 7-8 hours. It uses very little oxygen under water so it can stay submerged for a very long period of time.

Habitat

They live in the Philippines, Fiji, Thailand, India, new guinea, Northwest Australia. They live in the open ocean.

Here is where the sub-species Hydropiinae live in, this species includes the Belchers.

File:Sea Snake range.png
File:Sea Snake range.png

. Below. Here is its anatomy.

external image Snake%20Anatomy%20Diagram%20002.jpg


[[/wiki/Biological_classification|Scientific classification]]
Kingdom:
[[/wiki/Animal|Animalia]]
Phylum:
[[/wiki/Chordata|Chordata]]
Subphylum:
[[/wiki/Vertebrata|Vertebrata]]
Class:
[[/wiki/Reptilia|Reptilia]]
Order:
[[/wiki/Squamata|Squamata]]
Suborder:
[[/wiki/Serpentes|Serpentes]]
Family:
[[/wiki/Elapidae|Elapidae]]
Genus:
[[/wiki/Hydrophis|Hydrophis]]
Species:
H. belcheri
[[/wiki/Binomial_nomenclature|Binomial name]]
Hydrophis belcheri ([[/wiki/John_Edward_Gray|Gray]], 1849)
[[/wiki/Synonym_(taxonomy)|Synonyms]]
  • Aturia belcheri [[/wiki/John_Edward_Gray|Gray]], 1849
  • Hydrophis belcheri - [[/wiki/Albert_G%C3%BCnther|Günther]], 1864
  • Distira belcheri - [[/wiki/George_Albert_Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1896
  • Hydrophis belcheri - Cogger, 198

Above, here is its scientific classification.


Tips

1. Do not touch it.
2. Don't go near it.
3. Try not to die.

Video:

Here is a Belchers in the sea swimming.

Enjoy!+


http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4569450_snakes-lay-eggs.html

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=belchers+sea+snake&id=0AFFD9EC8B098D9744EF5389140A32EE7C6A18C1&FORM=IQFRBA&adlt=strict#view=detail&id=0AFFD9EC8B098D9744EF5389140A32EE7C6A18C1&selectedIndex=0
http://www.sharkbay.org/Seasnakesfactsheet.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrophiinae#Reproduction